Apparatus for removing and replacing the cover of a furnace or the like



Nov. 1, 1955 2,722,413

G. COORS APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING THE COVER OF A FURNACE ORTHE LIKE Filed April 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR GEORG COORSATTORNEYS NOV. 1, 1955 G, COORS 2,722,413

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING THE COVER OF A FURNACE OR THE LIKEFiled April 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

INVENTOR GEORG COORS ATTORNEYE "relationship of parts for United 232x413 --APPARAI1"U;S iFORrREMOVING AND REPLAGING THE COVER OFAFURNACE OR\THE- LIKE Gm coors,"wiesbsden,-ermany,*assignm twwestoren "G5 lnb.=H.,wiesbadenfGi liiany,a-Gerhian firm ApplicationApril20, 1954, SeriaI No.424,481 "Glaims priority, 'apfilicaiion eemanyixpfil 2751953 '10 claims.tomesine presefi invention re1a'tes't apparatus "for re fnovan'dreplacing the over of'a "furnace, seakin'g'pir 0r "th'elilie.

Imman rurnaes, soakingipitsandme like, the mate- --i'ial -to 'be treatedis charged "or iiitrddticdirjito the .pit "or furnace, and is dischargedor withdrawn 'therfrom,

"through the top. Forthis"pufposeffhe flatorarched cover of the pit orfurnace, whichdigh'tly closes the' pit for furnace chamber or"interioratthe topthere'of, is raised from its closing position and"moved 'a'way from" the. pit orfu'rnace openin and,'after recharging "oftheLpit or furnace, is replaced insuch closing position. 's"'z'eofsuch'acoverfarid the"te'mperature at which it is "generally found,necssitate'tlie employment of special "apparatus 'for these removing andreplacing "operations. "Lifting" and tramp :iting devices for suehcovers are known. C6iiventi'o'nally, the "said'de'vices sideon railsifpfiovided'jat"oneside nearthe i'pit or furnace opening. HoWever,in' such' devices," the assemblies-which raise and lower the coverand'whic"operate'the device, espec sially thernotors andgem drives, arel'positioned -on the cover, i. e. above the pit or furnaceo'pening."Consequently, the =d'r iving assemblies, which comprise'heat-sensitivemateiial-for'e'xaniple, "inot'ors and the insulation thereon-"'aieaprej'udiciall'y exposed, when' the cover is clo sed positionft'oappreciable indirect heat radiation from the cover and, when the coveris-in 'removedpositidn, to

.intens'ivefiirect heat"radia'tion. In additionQthe devicesprovideafdirefct' lift for the cover and also'hold the entire weightfofthe cover as'a suspended load, so that "very large driving or'operatingunits are required.

It is an object of the present invention to embody a effecting theaforesaidifunctions, i."e."rtnovin'g' and replacing the cover of thepitor furn ace, while being free of the-prior art deficiencies and 's a t.

This obje ct'is realized 'bythe present invention,the

relationship of parts of which is characterized by a carriage, on "theframe bf which k'positioned "beyond the extent of themovere-there-arepositioned the elements for lifting and l6wei-ing' thec'over andforsupporting the *said carriage 1" Being itself In this way, tliehat-sensitive elements or devices necessar for -knoviiag tlsie 'cover"are Withdrawn ffom the Lpr'e'jufdicial -"-tfierhral' fetion of thecover or furnace.

A presently-preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention ishereinafter described in detail with reference to the accompanyingsheets of drawing. On the said sheets of drawing,

Fig. l is a top plan view, somewhat diagrammatic in character, of thecover and carriage;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, somewhat diagrammatic, section through the coverand carriage;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, matic, corresponding to Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail partial views, somewhat diagrammatic, of thelocking device for the cover; and

somewhat diagram- The usual States Patent *Oi 2,722,413 Patented Nov. 1,1955 2 Fig. 6 is aside elevation, somewhat diagrammatic in character, ofthecover and carriage with the -lockingdevice.

Thepit or furnace chamber L' only the top of which is shown on thedrawings, is tightly sealedatthetopby the flat cover 3 which is providedon all four sides with a continuous depending flange? which extends-intothe sand pocket 2 which, correspondingly, extends continuou sly-aroundthe top of the,pit-or furnace chamber 1 (SeeFigfZ of the drawings). Theapparatus according to the present invention functions to remove thecover3 from and to reinsert it into the sand pocket '2. I

The said apparatus Comprises a carriage 4,on the frame 'of'whic' handbeyond'the extent of the cover '3, there are provided the 'elements'forraising and low'eringandtrans- "porting'the said cover. The drivingmeans 5 for said-carriag'e is, in-turn, positioned exteriorly of thecarriage frame. Advaiitageousl'y, the carriage '4'-is.-provided with aL)- shaped frame, the legs 6 and 7-of which extend inthe di- 'rection"of 'movement of' the carriage, the elements}; and 9 whichelfe'ct fheraising and lowering of the cover being positioned onthe said' legs 6and'7. As shown more-.pa'rticularly inF-igs. '1, 3 and 6,two setsof suchelements are provided, one set 'on each'leg, each set comprising spacedand alined members 8 and 9. The latter areconstructed'asupstanding'plates which are essentially Wedge- "shapedinside elevation (-see Fig. 3). The upper inclined "surface of'eai ch 'of'these wedge-shaped elements orcam rnembr'si'l'and9 terminates in ahorizontal extension surface or,pr'eferably as illustrated, inextensionsurfaces- 8, 9"which'i'neline slightly downwardly in -a direction op-"posite tdthat'of the original incline. These extension surfaces, whichfunction assu'ppo'rting surfaces, are each-provi'ded'at' the oute'rend'thereof with an upstanding limit- 'ingabut'mentS" or 9".

'Moun'te'd'o'n the cover 3 and extending thereacross in spacedrelationship thereto are-carrier beams 1 0, which project at each endbeyond'the cover 3, and are provided (in 'achprojec'ting end withrollers 11 or 12. The 'beains 10are 'so"dirnen sione d'thatthe saidrollers compr'isewithin th'eir path of movement the aforesaidsur- "facesof'elements's' and9. The-beams are spaced apart "to'anext'erite'qnal'tothe spacebetween members Sand 9"(s'eeFig. 1). I 4

The carriage 4 is driven by motors which isfpreferably"fixedlvpo's'itio'ne'd 'exteriorly of -the carriageon a suitable and'conventional support, and the drive is effected through "the"iriediumof gearing 13 lgear shaft 13., pulleys '14, "pulle'ys "1'5 arid' drivingropes -16. Pulleys 14 ar1d 15 a're "fixe'dly "mounte'd independently -ofthe carriage 4 an'd cove'r '3. "The ropes 16 severally extend on each"side,;just"b'ey6ndthefadjacentframe legs 6--and;7. The "ends of "eachro'pe 16 are fastened to lugs 16', being "providedbn each side of thecarriage 4.

Lifting of the cover 3 takes place upon movement of fttie Car' 'r'ia'ge"4" from its initialposition (shown'in solid line's i'n Fi'gi laridcorresponding tothe clos ing. position "bf the cover). This'moveme'nttto the left in {Fig-1), effected With"tlie 'aid of motor 5arid interposed elements "'(gaiing,"pu'lleys,ropes), causes the cam orwedge-shaped members 8 and 9 of each of the two sets of such members tobe positioned under the corresponding rollers 11, 12 of the carrierbeams 10. Continued movement of the carriage 4 runs the said rollersonto the cam members, whereby the cover 3 is raised to an extentcorresponding to the vertical height of the said members, such verticalheight being at least slightly greater than the depth of the sand pocket2. In such raised position, the cover 3 is free to be moved relative tothe pit or furnace. It is now resting on the cam members 3 and 9, i. e.is carried by the carriage 4 as a static load. The carriage itself ismovable on rails 18 on which Wheels 17 of the pit or furnace at aboutthe level of the pit or furnace opening, see Fig. 2.

During the lifting operation, the cover 3 is secured against relativedisplacement in the direction of movement of the carriage 4, by means ofa locking device located in the free space between the carriage and thecover; see e. g. Fig. 4. In the preferred embodiment according to theinvention, this locking device takes the form of a double-armed angularlever 20, 21 which oscillates about its pivot at the vertex of theangle, the end of each arm being provided with a roller 29, 21. Thelever arms 20, 21 are of different lengths; the rollers 20', 21 may beof the same or different sizes.

When the cover 3 is in its position closing the opening of the pit orfurnace, i. e. in the initial position of the cover 3 and carriage 4,the double-armed lever constituting the locking device 19 is maintainedin its uppermost position by the guide member 22, which is preferablyangular in configuration (see Fig. 6) and is secured to the inner sideof frame leg 6. In this position, the roller 21 is positioned behind thewidened end 23 of the cover 3. A similar locking device is also providedon the other side of the cover, in which case a guide member 22 is alsoprovided on the inner side of frame leg 7 (see Fig. 4).

Upon movement of the carriage, the roller 20 of each locking devicemoves along the corresponding guide member 22, the length of whichcorresponds to the length of the cam members 8 or 9, these being ofidentical lengths. During this movement, the rollers 11 and 12 of thecover carrying beams 10 run onto the cam members 8 and 9. When therollers 20 reach the end of the guide pieces 22, they are unsupportedupon further movement of the carriage. Thereupon the longer arms 21,which moreover may be provided with the heavier rollers 21, gravitatedownwardly and release the cover 3.

The cover 3 which is now seated on the cam members 8, i. e. is mountedon the carriage 4, can now be moved away from the pit or furnace openingby means of can riage 4 through the medium of the driving motor andaforesaid interposed elements.

Return movement for replacement of the cover 3 onto the pit or furnaceopening involves return movement of the carriage 4, and this is alsoeffected from the motor 5, suitable and conventional means beingprovided for reversing the direction of movement transmitted to theropes 16. Upon such return movement, the cover abuts against the bumper24 when it (the cover) reaches its position above the opening. Thecarriage 4 then continues to move (to the right, in Fig. 1) to an extentequal to the length of the wedge or cam members 8 or 9, whereby therollers and 11 of the cover carrying beams 10 run off the said members.This lowers the cover 3 until the depending flanges 3 are againpositioned in the same pocket 2. Simultaneously, the guide members 22have run onto the rollers of the locking devices, so that the rollers 21assume their locking positions behind the widened end 23 of the cover.

Having thus disclosed the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for raising and lowering and for transporting the cover ofan upwardly open furnace or the like, comprising a carriage separatefrom said cover and movable along a path comprising the opening of saidfurnace,

said carriage straddling said opening and the cover thereof when inposition thereover, carrier beams extending upwardly from said cover toa position above said carriage when the cover and carriage are insuperposed relationship, lifting cams mounted on said carriage on eachside thereof and beyond the extent of said opening when the carriage isthereover, said carrier beams being engageable by said lifting cams asthe carriage moves along its said path and thereby raising said coverfrom said-opening, said cover being entrainable along with said carriageto a point remote from said opening as said carriage continues to movealong said path, and means remote from said opening for impartingmovement to said carriage.

2. The relationship of parts according to claim 1, said last named meansmoving said carriage in both directions along said path, means forlimiting the movement of said cover during the return movement of saidcarriage and entrained cover whereby, upon continued return movement ofsaid carriage the carrier beams are disengaged from said cams and thecover is dissociated from said carriage and replaced on said furnaceopening.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, said carriage being U-shaped andcomprising legs extending in the direction of movement of the carriage,said lifting cams being mounted on said legs.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said lifting cams arewedge-shaped plates having inclined upper surfaces, whereby theyeffectively function as inclined planes.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the carrier beams extendacross the top of said cover, each beam projecting beyond the sides ofthe cover and each projecting portion having a roller mounted thereon,said rollers being positioned in alinement with the upper surfaces ofsaid lifting cams whereby relative movement between said carriage andcover causes said rollers to run onto said surfaces and effects thelifting of said cover.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the location of said drivingmeans is fixed.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, said carriage being laterally spacedfrom said cover, and a locking device interposed in said space forsecuring the cover against displacement in the direction of movement ofsaid carriage during lifting of said cover.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, said locking device comprising adouble-armed angular lever pivoted at the vertex thereof, and means foreffecting interengager'nent between one said arm and said cover tosecure the latter during lifting thereof.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the arms of said lever are ofunequal length and a roller is journaled on the end of each arm.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, comprising a guide member for saidlever mounted on the inside of said carriage frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS703,322 Treat June 24, 1902 1,141,573 Merian June 1, 1915 1,583,604 OrrMay 4, 1926 1,594,588 Baily Aug. 3, 1926 2,275,926 Smith Mar. 10, 1942

